CALL TO ACTION: Please contact your representatives to the U.S. House of Representatives immediately about HR3746.
Members of the House Committee on Education and Labor have just introduced legislation to control illegal file sharing in higher education that uses essentially the same language as the recent Reid amendment in the Senate. This bill, called the College Access and Opportunity Act of 2007, includes language that: * Makes the Secretary of Education an agent of the entertainment industry. * Gives schools no right to contest or appeal industry provided- statistics on copyright violations that can result in severe penalties. * Requires use of unproven and very expensive technological controls. * Could result in the loss of financial aid to all students of schools that do not comply. * Singles out institutions of higher education and ignores commercial ISPs. WHAT YOU CAN DO: 1. Coordinate your response to this challenge with your institutional executives and federal relations officers. 2. Call the main sponsors of the bill to express your strong opposition to this proposal: Representative Buck McKeon, ph: (202) 225-1956, fax: (202) 226-0683 Representative Ric Keller, ph: (202) 225-2176, fax: (202) 225-0999 (Please note: email may be rejected if you are not a constituent.) Ask for the staff member in charge of higher education and leave a voice mail if necessary. Call back later to speak with a staff member. 3. Call and/or e-mail your institutions Congressional representative and deliver the same strong message. (Find your representatives contact information at <www.house.gov>) 4. Call additional sponsors of the bill and deliver the same strong message. (Rep. Rob Bishop, Utahs 1st; Rep. Charles W. Boustany, Jr., Louisianas 7th; Rep. David Davis, Tennessees 1st; Rep. Luis Fortuno, Puerto Rico; Rep. John Kline, Minnesotas 2nd; Rep. Mark E. Souder, Indianas 3rd; and Rep. Joe Wilson, South Carolinas 2nd). For copies of the relevant legislative language, talking points, and template responses for your use, please see <http://www.educause.edu/ p2pfs>. Thank you for your help! Mark Luker Vice President EDUCAUSE ************************************************** EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology. The current membership comprises more than 2,100 colleges, universities, and educational organizations, including 200 corporations, with 16,500 active members. EDUCAUSE has offices in Boulder, Colorado, and Washington, D.C. Learn more at http:// www.educause.edu --------------------------------------------------------------- WWWhatsup NYC http://pinstand.com - http://punkcast.com --------------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.isoc-ny.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
